Tel Aviv: The exceptional high kill rate of the Iron Dome, part of the Israeli multilayered air defence systems has convinced the US army to use the systems’ technology.
The US Army is integrating the Tamir interceptors from the Israeli Iron Dome system. The Tamir missile, originally developed for Iron Dome to counter rockets, artillery, and mortars, has been successfully fired and tested by the US Army as part of its Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 -Intercept programme using its multi-mission launcher.
The Army plans to field two Iron Dome Defence System-Army (IDDS-A) batteries as an interim cruise missile defence solution, incorporating the Tamir interceptor fully adapted and interoperable with US defence architectures like the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).
The Iron Dome systems to be used by the US forces, which combines US radar and command technologies with the Tamir missile, has also been successfully tested in live-fire by the US Marine Corps, proving the system’s ability to integrate and its efficacy in a variety of interception scenarios.
The Iron Dome Tamir interceptors are now being produced in the United States through a joint venture between Israeli firm Rafael and Raytheon, called R2S. A new production facility opened in Camden, Arkansas, where Tamir missiles for Israel’s Iron Dome and the US SkyHunter variant are manufactured. This facility represents the first all-up-round production site in the US for these interceptors. The production in the US stems from a multi-billion dollar contract signed by Israel’s Ministry of Defence and is funded partly by a $8.7 billion aid package from the US Congress, which included $5.2 billion designated for air defence assets.
The contract with R2S is worth $1.25 billion specifically to supply Israel with Tamir missiles produced at this US facility.
According to Rafael, the new US production facility with Raytheon, recently opened will produce Tamir interceptors in response to US demand, shows a strong commitment to manufacturing these interceptors domestically for both Israeli and American usage.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
